Tamil nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran made a claim on February 13 that made headlines in Sri Lanka and India. He claimed that Velupillai Prabhakaran, chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is alive. Velupillai Prabhakaran is the one who started the militant organization LTTE that created panic all over Sri Lanka. Apart from this, a conspiracy was also hatched to assassinate the former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.
The Sri Lankan government announced the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on May 18, 2009, ie 14 years ago. Now once again the news of his being alive has shocked everyone. On this claim, the Defense Ministry of Sri Lanka has rejected the claim of Tamil nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran. They say that the LTTE chief was killed and this has also been proved in the DNA test.
First of all know who is Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder of the Sri Lankan Tamil guerrillas and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). LTTE is an organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.
LTTE i.e. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had kept people scared with their terror for almost three decades. After this, the Sri Lankan army killed LTTE Chief Prabhakaran in 2009.
Prabhakaran is also accused of conspiring to assassinate former PM of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Apart from this, he is responsible for the attempted assassination of another President of Sri Lanka, hundreds of political assassinations and many suicide attacks.
how prabhakaran was killed
Many media reports said different things about Prabhakaran’s death. It was told in some reports that Prabhakaran had shot himself while being surrounded by soldiers and in many reports it has been said that he was the victim of Sri Lankan soldiers’ bullet.
According to one report, Prabhakaran and his top leaders fled to Mullaitivu when the Sri Lankan army was entering LTTE territory, which was stopped by a rocket attack by soldiers and Prabhakaran was killed when he tried to leave the conflict zone in an ambulance. While trying, his body was badly burnt. Although pro-rebels claimed that he was alive.
Later Prabhakaran’s body was found north of the Nandikathal lagoon. The DNA test later confirmed that the body was his. The report said that he died due to heavy head injury or bullet injury from close range.
The Sri Lankan army claimed that they had found Prabhakaran’s body in a lake. His picture was also shared by the Sri Lankan Army. His appearance resembled that of Prabhakaran and a large bullet hit his forehead, which proved that he had been shot in the head.
Sri Lankan Tamil journalist DBS Jayaraj wrote about Prabhakaran’s death in one of his reports in the year 2021, ‘A search operation was conducted to find his dead body. Bodies of six bodyguards were also found near him. Seeing Prabhakaran’s dead body, it seemed that he had fired upwards by putting a gun in his mouth.
A 2009 report by The Indian Express stated that a Jaffna-based human rights group, University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna (UTHR-J), wrote in a special report that “Prabhakaran was found to be a Tamil government politician at the Division 53 headquarters”. And was tortured in the presence of a general. Due to which he died.
What happened to the organization after Prabhakaran’s death?
When LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran died in the year 2009, the terror of this organization also ended gradually but its supporters spread in other countries of the world including Sri Lanka and India still remain a challenge.
Now know what is this LTTE
Several organizations were born in Sri Lanka in the early 70s to protect the rights of Tamils. Tamil New Tigers (TNT) was also one of these organizations. Earlier students and youth were associated with TNT and its reins were in the hands of V. Prabhakaran.
In 1976, Prabhakaran S. Joined hands with Subramaniam’s terrorist group and thus the LTTE was born. Over time, LTTE became the most powerful organization in comparison to other Tamil organizations and other smaller organizations were either merged with them or destroyed.
Within a decade, Prabhakaran had transformed the LTTE from a group of less than 50 men with minor weapons to a trained organization of 10,000 men that could compete with even a country’s army. By the mid-1980s, the LTTE emerged as the only powerful Tamil-led organization.
infamous LTTE attacks
- In the year 1983, the people of this organization killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers in Jaffna. Due to which violence erupted. Clashes escalated between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army. As a result civil war started in Sri Lanka. It is believed that 400 to 3000 people died during this period. While 1.5 lakh people had to leave their homes, and around 8000 houses and 5000 shops were burnt in the riots.
- The most infamous attacks of this organization include the deadly attacks on Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Premadasa.
- In 1995, the LTTE attacked and shot down a Sri Lankan army aircraft. In the same year, this organization had sunk two boats of the Sri Lankan Navy.
- In January 1996, the people of this organization carried out a suicide attack on the Central Bank of Colombo, which is considered to be the most dangerous attack ever. In this 90 people were killed and 1400 people were injured.
- In the year 2004, a suicide attack was carried out in Colombo, which was the biggest attack after 2001.
- In the month of August 2005, LTTE killed Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Laxman Kadirgamar. After this murder, a national emergency was declared in the country.
- Digampataya massacre in the year 2006. In this attack, 120 sailors were killed while targeting the Sri Lankan army.
What was Rajiv Gandhi’s peace proposal
Due to the violence in India’s neighboring country, lakhs of Tamil people started coming to the border of India by sea. At the same time, LTTE wanted their separate country to be formed along with the Tamils of India. Which means that the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983 was affecting India as well.
In the year 1986, the condition of Sri Lanka of this country kept getting worse. The Sri Lankan army attacked Jaffna, which is called the stronghold of Tamils. Lakhs of Tamil citizens were injured in this attack and many also died.
Seeing this massacre, India sent army to help the Tamils surrounded in Jaffna. Which was named Operation ‘Pawan’. India wanted to send the army through the sea route, but the Sri Lankan soldiers did not allow it and stopped the Indian army.
Angered by this decision of Sri Lanka, India announced to provide help to the Tamils by air. Now the Indian Air Force was also involved. After this announcement of India and the arrival of the army to help the Tamils, the Sri Lankan government agreed to compromise with the LTTE and in July 1987 the deployment of the Indian peacekeeping force started in Jaffna. Along with the deployment, Rajiv Gandhi also reached Colombo to sign the peace agreement.
Till the year 1990, after the peace agreement, the soldiers of the Indian Army remained there. 1200 soldiers of our country were martyred in this operation. This was the decision that also became the reason for Rajiv’s murder.
In fact, LTTE had become Rajiv’s enemy only after the decision to send Shanti Sena. In 1991, LTTE assassinated Rajiv Gandhi in a suicide attack.
Rajiv Gandhi gave bulletproof jacket
According to media reports, when LTTE chief Prabhakaran had agreed to the India-Sri Lanka accord and was ready to give a chance, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was very happy. He also gave a bulletproof jacket to Prabhakaran so that he could survive any kind of attack. It is said that Rajiv Gandhi had taken his word for it and in return Prabhakaran conspired to kill him.
ban on LTTE
This organization was banned in India after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The government said in its gazette notification that LTTE is a violent and separatist organization of Sri Lanka. Supporting it or having any kind of sympathy in India is a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. This comes under the purview of illegal activity.
The notification also said that the LTTE has not abandoned the concept of Eelam after its defeat in Sri Lanka in May 2006. This organization is still working strongly towards Eelam by carrying out fundraising and promotional activities in Europe.
